Mabinogi: Trinity Saga
by Origindragon
Summary: On a trip to visit her grandmother, Karin runs into a mysterious boy who takes her on a trip she has only heard of in stories. To a land called Erinn, where she finds more waiting for her than one girl can handle alone...
1. One Summers Day

Origindragon: And once again I am writing a fanfiction that will take some time to update. Please forgive the delay as I can only write so much and maintain a normal life at the same time.

As with all of my other works of fanfiction I claim nothing of what Nexon/devcat have produced, I just like writing stories. And flames shall be used to make smores, while criticism will be considered. I do this for fun, not for awards or college or anything like that.

-=: * Prologue 1: One Summer's Day * :=-

It all began on a calm morning in Wiltshire England. On the road leading to the countryside driving along was a small blue car, with four inhabitants inside, the father, the mother, their older daughter and their young son. They were the Ramseur family, and they were on their way to visit their grandmother who lived in Wiltshire. They were clearly American, both by their accents and the way they were dressed. The mother was a young blonde haired woman who liked to prattle on about what was on her mind at the time. The father was a brown haired man who took life very seriously when he was at work, but who became the family man when he was with his loved ones. Their daughter, a teenage red-haired youth who was more often spoiled than was good for her. Finally was the son, a dirty blonde toddler who more resembled his mother than his father.

"Why does grandma live out in the middle of lamesville?" The red-haired girl complained rather loudly to her parents.

"Karin, we've had this discussion before." The father responded, Karin sticking her tongue out.

"Bleh, no internet. No cable. No good TV. What does she do for fun out here? Churn butter?" She rolled her soft blue eyes and leaned back in her seat, her brother looking at her curiously.

"Come on, Karin. It'll be fun." Her mother said to her. "She said that there are a lot of kids your age near where she lives. Maybe you can play with them."

"The term is 'Hang', mom. I'm not a little kid anymore." She leaned back, watching the scenery go by as they made their way ever onward. Karin was hoping to find an excuse _not_ to visit her grandmothers for summer vacation. She had tried everything, from feigning sickness to trying to go with her friends as they went to the beach to going so far as threatening to run away from home. Nothing worked, obviously, and here she was – about to spend the rest of her summer in a place that she hated.

Karin was your typical teenage girl, obsessed with the goings-on in pop culture, the latest music and fashion trends, and an avid Tumbler. To have that all taken away from her for three whole months was about the equivalent of sticking her in a mental ward – she'd go crazy! Didn't her parents realize she'd die without internet access? Didn't they realize that she'd miss out on the latest new releases? That she'd miss out on watching her favorite TV shows?

They rolled up to a familiar countryside house earlier than Karin would have liked. Her grandmother lived alone in the rural countryside, her grandfather having passed away when she was just a baby. Every year they would go and stay over the summer, and every year her grandmother would bore her with fairy tales, myths, and legends. Her brother, she decided, either got a kick out of it or was simply enjoying the attention it gave him when their grandmother would read to them both. Moreover, Karin believed that her grandmother saw Karin in a perpetual state of five years old despite all of her efforts to prove her otherwise.

"Last stop! Everybody out!" Her father said and they all got out of the car, Karin stomping to the back of the car and grabbing her suitcase as soon as the trunk door opened. This was a ritual that had gone on for fifteen years straight, about as soon as Karin was able to walk. Her father continued to unload the car as her mother unbuckled little Jack – her baby brother – and took him in her arms.

"Karin, help out your father will you?" Her mother said to her. Karin scoffed but obeyed nonetheless, carrying one of the suitcases in her other arm. The door to the house opened and her grandmother stepped out.

"And so begins my jail sentence." Karin muttered under her breath.

* * *

"Karin, dear, let me tell you a story."

"Grandma, I've heard about a dozen stories. How many can there be?"

"There's always another story waiting to be written. Like this one, the Tale of Lugh Lavada." Karin sighed, drumming her fingers on the couch.

"Sure thing, Grandma." And as her grandmother began the tale Karin's mind wandered. She'd already heard this story a dozen times over but her grandmother liked to tell it and she hadn't the heart – or courage – to say otherwise. Always about how Lugh came to help the king Nuadha because he was skilled in – well – everything, how he defeated the evil fomorian King Balor and his monsters and became king himself when Nuadha kicked the bucket. Just one of the many stories she'd heard concerning some bunch of myths – Mabinogian chronicles, tales, whatever – that she had heard over and over again. She could recite them in her sleep if she wanted to, word for word.

"…rin. Karin." Karin shook her head.

"Wha?"

"Karin, dear, if my story is boring you just tell me dear." Karin shook her head.

"It's not that, I'm just a little bit sleepy Grandma." Her Grandmother closed the book in her lap, the Celtic knot embedded on the leather cover.

"Why don't you go for a walk? Get some fresh air and good exercise. You could also meet all the boys nearby. I also hear the library has a computer with internet access." Her Grandmother winked. Karin rolled her eyes but she smiled. Maybe her grandmother wasn't all bad after all. "I won't tell your parents, dear."

"Thank you Grandma!" Karin leapt up, kissing her grandmothers cheek before taking off out of the house. She was free, free from boredom!

Or so she had hoped. She realized just then that it would take her quite a while to reach the library, as her grandmother's house was all the way out in the middle of nowhere – aside from Stonehenge of course.

'My grandmother just tricked me.' Karin thought to herself. Sulking, she started making her way down the road towards the main town and – hopefully – the library would still be open. She was passing by a tree when she heard a voice call out to her.

"Hey! Redhead!" Karin stopped and looked up into the tree, spotting a boy about her age with rough blonde hair and the deepest brown eyes she had ever seen – so brown she swore they were almost red.

"It's rude to call people names you know." She responded hotly to which the boy laughed, jumping down from the tree.

"Well I didn't know your name, and I don't think you'd like being called 'girl' any better." Karin made a 'humph' and turned away from him.

"You could have just asked me, you know." She responded as the boy walked around to look at her, prompting her to glare at him.

"Sorry about that, I didn't mean to make you mad." The boy said, smiling. "I'm Niel. What's your name?" He asked, holding out a hand. She looked at it, thinking.

'Well, I can't stay mad at him. He really does seem sorry.' She thought to herself. She took his hand and shook it, her expression going from annoyance to a pleasant smile.

"I'm Karin, nice to meet you." She said. "I'm just visiting my grandmother for the summer. She lives just up the road." She indicated the house that she left. Niel looked in that direction.

"The Ramseur lady? Cool." After looking him over once while Niel was distracted Karin decided that he wasn't bad on the eyes, Blue jeans, beige shirt with a yellow short sleeved over shirt. On anyone else it would have looked ridiculous but he managed to pull off the look. And his smile wasn't bad either alongside his very pretty eyes…

"Where do you live?" Karin asked him, prompting him to turn back to her.

"I live back in town. I like to come out here for the peace and quiet. Not to mention the Stonehenge." Niel nodded to the circle of stones off in the distance.

"Oh really? So do I! In fact I was just going to the library to look up some stuff." She lied.

"Cool. Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all, be my guest." She smiled. He may be a little bit dorky but she could live with that.

* * *

Over the next couple of weeks Karin and Niel have been meeting each other each day do to one thing or another – whether it involved simply going to the local library to hanging out with Niels friends to even just simply exploring the countryside. Karin couldn't remember how long it had been since she had so much fun just running around looking at things. She _definitely_ thought that those previous trips to her grandmothers were now at an end: that she could actually _enjoy_ these summer trips, so long as Niel was there.

Karin also acknowledged the fact that she was crushing on him a little bit, but it wasn't too serious. She was only here for the summer after all, so it wasn't like it would develop into anything serious. Nonetheless she spent almost all her time with Niel, and enjoying every minute of it.

"Karin?" Niel asked, both of them on their backs just watching the sky.

"Yeah Niel?"

"I wanna ask you something." Niel asked, a nervous tone in his voice. Karin got up, curious.

"What is it Niel?"

"I'm… uh… well… how do I explain this…" Niel thought.

'_What would he be so nervous about? Unless…_' Karin decided to stop her train of thought right there. It was better for Niel to tell her directly rather than ask if he felt the same way about her as she did for him.

"See, there's something I wanna show you, but it might get you in a lot of trouble. You can say no if you want to but…" Now Karin was _really_ curious, if slightly disappointed.

"Well I won't say no if I don't know what it is first."

"Well, do you mind coming to Stonehenge after dark today?" Karin was taken aback, now feeling a mixture of both suspicion and hope. Why couldn't he show her whatever it is now? It would be romantic if he told her when they were alone but maybe he was also planning to do things to her when they were alone as well. She sat there in silence, pondering.

_If a boy wants you to be alone, he's sure to have something nasty planned for you._ Her mothers' famous words which she lived by. And yet Niel didn't strike her as the kind of guy who would do such a thing. He seemed too aloof, and far too gentle to do such things.

'_Well, only one way to find out. And I _did_ take those karate lessons for a reason after all if he does try anything on me._'

"Sure, I'll come." Niel smiled widely.

"Really? This will be so cool! I guarantee it!" Karin smiled back.

'_I hope it is._'

* * *

Origindragon: And that's it for part 1 of my prologue. Sorry it may be short for some of you but I decided to start small and work my way back to writing big chapters. R&R if you want. I'll update when I can so keep an eye out for my next prologue. And yes, this all has a point.

Flames will be used to charge dragon fireballs.


	2. An Old Story By Grandma

Origindragon: Hello again, readers! This is the second part of my prologue, which I originally planned to be combined with the release of my first chapter but this turned out to be larger than I expected. The Advent of the Goddess/Game Chapter 1 written here may or may not be affected by the g16S2 update. I'll need to look at the whole thing first before determining that. But for now the first couple of chapters will be about how Karin adjusts to her new life on Erinn, and how she trains to go from newbie to veteran. Also, the majority of the characters here are ones that my friend has created or the npc's from the game. Those that are not will be mentioned in the authors notes at the end of each chapter alongside an introductory character roster/bio for each.

Once again I do not own mabi nor do I have the means to. It is rightly owned by Devcat/Nexon, I just do this for fun. Flames shall be used to train refining.

-=: * Prologue 2: An Old Story From Grandma… * :=-

Karin sat at the dinner table alongside her family eating Lamb chops, mashed potatoes, and peas – a typical family meal. For the life of her, however, she just couldn't concentrate on dinner. She was too focused on figuring out _why_ Niel wanted to see her at Stonehenge – at night moreover. She considered the idea of blowing off the whole thing entirely but decided against it. She couldn't face Niel again if she did. What if all he wanted to do was what she first thought? To talk about how he felt about her. Once again she found the thought slightly romantic, but she also considered the other side of that possibility – that he may simply act nice on the outside to kidnap her or worse. A psychopath, in essence, taking advantage of a young girl's infatuation. The way he was simply hanging out in that tree when they first met did strike her as odd, as she could swear nobody else was around for miles.

'_Well, he may have just been bored, like me, and just went out to find something to do._' She mentally argued.

"Karin, dear, is something the matter?" Karin looked up at her Grandmother, who was looking at her with a concerned expression.

"No Grandma, I'm just thinking."

"Thinking about what dear? It's not a certain someone is it?" Karin's face went slightly red and she looked down at her plate to try and hide her face.

"No!" Her grandmother chuckled then, smiling.

"What's this?" Her father said, looking suspiciously at Karin. "Have you been seeing a boy?"

"So what if I have been? He's a friend!" Karin responded hotly, looking up at her father. "I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself!"

"Nonetheless you shouldn't be seeing boys at your age. I don't want either of you making a mistake you'll regret." Her father responded sternly.

"Your father's right honey. Maybe when you're out in college you can start dating but not right now." Her mother agreed.

"But he's just a friend! I can't simply be friends with _any_ boy I meet?"

"You can be friends but you can only see him when you have another girl with you. And that's final." Her father said with a note of finality.

"John,-"

"No mother, she's my daughter." Karin just looked at her father incredulously before slamming her napkin down on the table and getting up.

"I need some fresh air." She said, quickly leaving the table and her family behind.

"Karin! Get back here this instant!" Her father yelled out but she ignored it. He wasn't going to tell her how she could life her life – only she had that right. She left the house, slamming the door behind her and making her way to Stonehenge.

* * *

"Niel? Are you here?" Karin called out, looking around. For such an important national Icon, she found the lack of security in the area a bit disturbing. She reasoned that people weren't expecting anyone to steal a bunch of rocks – and if they did they would need a lot of people or machinery, which would create quite a ruckus. Nonetheless she felt slightly vulnerable out by herself, as if she was in someplace that she shouldn't. She was, yes, but it was for a good reason, she kept telling herself.

"Hello? Niel?" She called out again. The sun was nearly out of the sky now, a glowing bar on the horizon and it was starting to get hard for her to see. If Niel didn't show up by the next hour or so she would leave – regardless of her father's wrath.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't expect to see you here so soon." Karin turned around, spotting Niel sitting on the center stone.

"Niel!" She went over to him. "I almost couldn't make it today. It was lucky my father and I had a fight."

"You and your father fought?" Niel said incredulously. "Why?"

"He thought you and I were gone to do some things that we would regret. He just doesn't get that not _all_ teenage boys have their heads in the gutter." Karin said, unable to hide the tone of annoyance in her voice. "Honestly, he can be such a pig-headed-"

"I get it, I get it!" Niel said, standing up and patting her on the shoulder. "But please, don't get into fights just to be with someone like me, okay? It's an unhealthy habit." Karin looked at him then back down to the ground, blushing in embarrassment. She must have looked like a spoiled brat to him right then.

"Sorry."

"It's all right. Still, what's done is done. We can only move forward, right?" He said with a smile. She looked up, a soft smile on her lips as well.

"Yeah." Both of them sat down on the stone again. "So, why did you want to meet me out here?"

"I can't tell you that yet. It's a surprise. We have to wait for the others." Karin looked sideways at him, suspicion dawning on her features.

"What others?"

"The others who want to do this too." He said with a look of plain innocence on his face.

"Do what, exactly?" She asked, mentally preparing to run in case she needed too.

"To see the stars." _This_ she hadn't expected. She went through all that trouble just to go stargazing with him and a few friends?

'_Well, I guess it's kind of romantic. Maybe something will happen. Like a shooting star or-_' Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw others in the distance coming to them, men and women, boys and girls. Some were around her age while others seemed very young or very old. One man, she saw, had hair as white as snow and yet carried himself like a though he was still a young man.

"This is the strangest stargazing party I've seen yet." She noticed nobody brought telescopes.

"We _are_ stargazing, right?" Niel simply smiled at her.

"Yup. And we're going to see stars up close. You don't need telescopes with what we can do." This piqued her interest. Maybe it was some kind of trick you use the rocks for, like mirrors or something. Or maybe they already had all the equipment here.

"Cool." She said. She giggled a little bit on seeing a little girl with blonde pigtails strutting forward ahead of someone who seemed to be her sister with a Bombay cat in tow, mimicking her expression. The girl glared at Karin before coming to a stop just inside the circle, as everyone else seemed to do.

"Come on Karin. Stand up." Niel said, standing up himself. Curious on what was going to happen she also stood up.

It was about another two minutes before everyone who was coming finally arrived, standing side by side in circles of varying sizes, all around the center stone within the Stonehenge. Finally, Niel spoke.

"Friends from all over, I welcome you! Today you arrive here to move to another world! Which world that is shall be completely up to you!" Karin looked at him, confusion written on her expression. What in the world was he talking about? Other worlds? She wondered if this was actually a drug party, which might explain why the old man acted so very young. Steroids can do that to a person.

"Today, some of you shall move on to worlds of peace. Others shall move on to worlds of great upheaval. And for some of you, including my young friend Karin here, this is the first time you shall move on to another world. I wish you all the best of luck! May the Great One grant you wisdom to guide you, courage in your heart, the wind at your back, and the earth to see you through to the end!" Now Karin was thoroughly confused.

'_Oh god this isn't a devil worshipping cult is it?_' She had heard about covens of witches that existed in the UK. Some were good, others bad.

"Have a safe trip!" And with that, Niel lifted his right leg and slammed his foot down hard on the stone. Instantly a strong blue glow filled the area inside of Stonehenge and a great gust of wind began swirling around them, causing Karin to cover her head to keep her hair from flying everywhere. It was when she got her hair under control she looked at the others – and gaped.

'_What the-?'_ now everyone inside the circle began floating upwards, as though they were in water rising to the surface, before suddenly flashing ahead like shooting stars. Niel grabbed her hand.

"Come on! I'm going to show you Erinn!"

"Niel! What's happening? I-Idon't-what-?" She couldn't make sentences; this completely blew her mind out of the water and into dimension X. She was likely going to find herself there soon enough.

"Hold my hand, Karin, and don't let go until I say so!" And with that both of them began to float up into the sky. Karin tried to let go but it was like as though both of their hands were stuck with superglue. Desperately she tried to hang on to the rock with her feet but it was now beyond her reach.

"NIEL? I'M-I'M SCARED! WHAT'S GOING ON?" She truly was scared, scared enough that she started crying.

"Just hang on! I'm taking you to where you need to be!" Niel said.

"I NEED TO BE BACK HOME! PUT ME DOWN NOW!" She cried out, flailing as they rose higher.

"I'm sorry but I can't do that yet! There's still a few things you and I need to do!" Niel looked back up to the sky. "Hang on!" Instantly Karin felt like as though she was attached to a jet as she felt herself rocket towards the sky, her tears drying instantly as they both sped into the sky. She tried to scream but nothing would come out of her mouth – her jaw locked shut. She tried looking around but her body refused to budge, eyes locked forward towards the vast night sky.

_**I'm sorry for lying to you, Karin. But I needed you to come with me**__._ Said a voice in her head. It sounded like Niel, but much deeper and with a slight growl to it.

'_Niel? Is that you? How are you-?'_

_**And my name is not just Niel. I'm Adniel, the Golden Dragon of Zardine and ruler of all dragonkind. Or I may be anyway. It all depends on how fast you find me.**_

'_Find you? You're right in front of me!'_

_**Am I**__?_

He was right, she realized. She was still holding onto something, but now it was a golden ball of light. They began to slow down slightly, and she found she could move again. She looked around, seeing stars whizzing by as they continued their flight. She then spotted a pair of travelers like herself, the girl from before and her sister. The sister waved with her free hand while holding onto her sister with that other.

"_Where are you two going?" _ The sister yelled out.

_**Erinn. We have something to do there**__._ Niel/Adniel replied again in that disembodied voice.

"_Cool! We're headed to Avalon ourselves! Maybe we'll meet up someday, ya?_"

_**I hope so**__._ Adniel replied. Karin was astonished.

'_You mean it's real? As in where King Arthur went when he died?_' Karin thought to herself.

"_See you later!_" She replied and both girls zoomed off towards the right.

"_Niel-Adniel-Whoever you are, what did you mean Avalon? That's just a fairy tale! Just Like Tir Na Nog and whatnot!_"

_**All legends carry a kernel of truth**__._ Adniel replied.

_**We're getting close now. Let go of me**__._

"_No I don't want to!_" She was afraid that if she let go she'd end up going on forever into space.

_**If you don't you'll die. You can't go where I'm going. Now let go or I will**__._ Adniel said in a stern voice.

"_But-?_"

_**Don't worry. Nao knows you're coming. She'll take care of you. Now let go**__._ Bracing herself, Karin unclasped her hand from the glowing ball of light. Instantly the ball zoomed off as Karin began slowing down towards what seemed to be a star. As she got closer however she noticed it was nothing but white.

"_What's happening? Niel? Adniel? HELP!_" She cried out. She drew closer and closer, the whiteness blocking everything out. She yelled out but it seemed the whiteness blocked out that too. Her vision filled up with the colorless intruder before she found herself going to sleep…

* * *

Petrock found himself back inside the soul stream, the barn owl having just completed another days' worth of deliveries. The owl always found it curious that only some of the man-woman-tall things could come here, more specifically the ones-who-Nao-helps. He was gliding towards the top platform to meet Nao-owner-friend when he noticed something else was on the platform. He glided down to the Celtic designed floating piece of mass and softly touched down, hopping over to the red-black-blue thing. The thing turned out to be another man-woman-tall thing simply asleep on its side. Petrock wondered if it had treats for him. So Petrock pecked it lightly on the shoulder. The thing stirred slightly, brushing where he pecked it.

"Not now mum itssummervacation…" it mumbled, apparently still asleep. Petrock pecked again, slightly harder.

"isaidnotnow, mum, jusfivemoreminutes…" It mumbled, going back to sleep again. Petrock was now annoyed at this point that the thing decided that it couldn't be bothered to get up and give him treats. He flapped a wing on its head.

"GAH! BIRD! BIRD IN THE BEDROOM AGAIN!" Petrock took off as the thing suddenly started flailing wildly around it. Karin shook her head as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Mom, another bird got in! I know you like breezes but can't you-" She stopped, looking around. "Where am I?" And then the memories of last night flooded back to her.

"Am I really… in another world?" She wondered, looking around. She then looked down at her clothes. "And who dressed me?" Indeed, her clothes were gone. They were replaced by a pair of light brown leather shoes with white socks, a light blue skirt – shorter than she was comfortable with – along with a black shirt over a white long-sleeved undershirt. Karin got up, examining herself before looking around where she was.

'_Where is this place, anyway?_' All she could see was white space all around her, along with a strange cylindrical arch overhead. Owls circled above her, hooting with the low murmur of the wind. What she was standing on appeared to be a platform made of some strange white metal. It was designed in the shape of the Celtic knot Karin had seen on her grandmothers' storybooks. She looked backwards, noticing some stairs that lead downward to a destination she couldn't see. She guessed she must be pretty high up, as some of the white stuff surrounding the platform below resembled clouds.

"Niel?" Karin called out. Nobody answered.

"Okay, so maybe this is a dream I'm having. Since, after all, people can't fly at the speed of light through space. And rocks don't glow and send you to other worlds. And Avalon doesn't exist." She began reasoning with herself, trying to keep herself from going into a panic attack. "There's a perfectly good explanation for this. A) you're still dreaming." She pinched herself, prompting a small 'ow!'

'_Maybe I just need something more painful._' She got on all fours and banged her head on the platform.

"OW~!" She rolled onto her back, rubbing her forehead as she waited for the pain to go away, the owls hooting like as though they were laughing.

"Okay, so I'm not dreaming. B) You're on some sort of acid trip because Niel managed to inject you with a needle or something." If she was, how could she tell? And weren't drug trips supposed to be crazier than this? Something like polka dot elephants exploding into pancakes or something.

"Or C) You went crazy for some reason and Niel was a figment of your imagination. This may explain WHY I'M TALKING TO MYSELF!" She yelled out, causing a couple of the owls to flee. If she _was_ crazy, how was she supposed to make herself better? She sat down, thinking.

'_Home…_' Her father was right. Niel was nothing but trouble. And now she had nothing to show for it, _if_ she could even communicate with her family again.

'_What am I doing? If I want to get things right I have to start acting. No moping around, Karin. We'll just have to find out how we can cure ourselves._' She got up and was about to head for the stairs when she heard a rustling of clothing behind her.

'_Huh?'_ She turned around, and gasped. Suddenly standing there in the middle of the platform was the most beautiful woman she had ever laid eyes on. She had long silver-blonde, almost white, hair that cascaded behind her shoulders in a pair of long pig tails tied with small black ribbon. Her figure was stunning – easily able to put the models back in America to shame – and she were a long black dress with a small talisman at the front of her waist, slightly resembling a dress she saw in all those movies with the sexy Chinese lady, though it seemed a little bit small around the waist for this lady. She had a pair of stockings going down to a cute pair of black sandals, along with a solid gold torque clasp on her neck. Her most striking feature, however, was her eyes. Her eyes were an ocean blue, with a seemingly infinite depth to them. If this woman was a goddess, Karin would not be surprised. She just seemed too _beautiful_ to be natural.

"Oh, you're awake." The woman said in a beautiful, clear voice. "Good morning Karin."

"How do you know my name?" Karin asked, still awestruck by this stunning angel mere feet away from her. The lady merely smiled at her, prompting a warm fuzzy feeling in Karin and causing her to smile in a slightly goofy fashion.

"Adniel told me you were coming." At the sound of his name Karin suddenly frowned, anger boiling back up the surface.

"Don't start with that again. I'm not in the mood." Karin growled.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." The lady said, bowing apologetically. "My name is Nao. I'm the guide to the soul stream." She walked over to Karin holding out her hand in a friendly gesture. Karin smiled softly.

'_I'm not sure why but it's hard to be mad at her._'

"Karin Ramseur, though you already knew that I guess." Karin said, taking her hand and shaking it. Her hand felt soft and clean – a very nice feeling.

'_She's _definitely _not natural, but I really don't mind in the slightest._' Karin thought, feeling slightly giddy.

"My duty here is to lead pure souls like yours to Erinn from the soul stream." Nao explained. Karin tilted her head.

"What's the soul stream?" Karin asked.

"It's where you are right now." Nao said, extending her arm all around them to emphasize. "It is the connection that worlds have between each other. It is also how Milletians like yourself travel from one world to another, and how you rebirth." Karin was now thoroughly confused.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm a human, not a martian." Nao giggled.

"Not martian, Milletian. It means 'From The Stars.' You're from another world, after all." Karin shook her head.

"No, I've just simply gone crazy and you – as well as all of this- are some crazy experience cooked up by my unhealthy mind and all I need to do is just figure out what's wrong and fix it so I can be back home. Be back to my boring, humdrum life back in Sacramanto California, trying to keep up my popularity and my grades in school." Karin ranted, walking around. "Either I'm gonna fix me or the psychologists are, one way or another I'm going back home." Nao looked at her, a sympathetic gaze in her azure eyes.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but you're not crazy. You really _are_ from another world." Karin shook her head.

"NO NO no no nonono~ that's just the crazy talk! If this was real, prove it." Karin said, folding her arms as if to prove her point. Nao looked up into the sky and with a snap of her fingers Karins purse popped out of nowhere, floating next to its owner in mid-air.

"I'm sure you have something to keep track of time in there. You can check the date." Karin looked at her apprehensively before slowly leaning down to pick up her purse – hot pink and plastic – before unzipping it and rifling through it.

"How did you get my purse?" Karin asked as she fetched her smartphone, flipping it face up and powering it back on. "And were you the one who dressed me?"

"To answer your first question, Adniel summoned it on your person before you left. And yes, I changed you into something that might fit you better when entering Erinn." Karin raised an eyebrow at Nao's fashion sense before turning her gaze back to her smartphone.

"Ugh… stupid passwords." She flicked her password and the phone opened up the main menu. She glanced at the date on the phone.

_06/12/2008_. It was exactly one day from yesterday. And, as if to emphasize the point, her phone had no service.

"BAH! This doesn't prove anything." She rejected, tossing her phone back in.

"Then I guess you'll find out for yourself, won't you?" Nao said, a small smile still on her lips.

"I guess."

"Do you have any more questions for me?" Karin thought for a moment.

"Yeah, I have another question." Karin turned herself to look at Nao straight in the eyes. "If I really _am_ on another world – which I'm not – then why me? Why was I brought here?"

"To be honest, I'm not quite sure why Adniel picked you either. I just think he was going to be lonely on the trip here." Nao replied honestly. Karin frowned.

"Wonderful. I'm just somebody's carpool dummy. Great display of self-confidence for a crazy person." Karin mumbled. Nao looked at her with a curious gaze.

"What's a carpool?"

"Nothing, it's just something back home." Karin replied.

"All right."

" I'm done with my questions, for now." Karin said after a moment. If she had any more questions, she was sure the Chesire cat or something would be by any minute to help her anyhow – whether she liked it or not.

"Are you ready to enter Erinn then?" Nao asked her serenely. Karin nodded.

"Yeah I guess I'm ready to enter this rin thing world you have."

"Erinn." Nao corrected her.

"Whatever."

"Before you go, I have a gift for you." Nao brought – out of seemingly thin air – a leather backpack and handed it to her. Karin opened it and looked inside, spotting a loaf of bread and a book.

"What's this?" She asked.

"My welcoming gift to you. The book contains some basic hints that will help you in getting used to your new life." Nao said, smiling.

"Thanks." Karin put on the backpack. "I'm sorry I don't have anything for you."

"That's all right." Nao smiled at her, once again making Karin feel a little bit giddy.

"Once you arrive you'll meet a friend of mine who goes by the name of Tin. He'll help you out further."

"Tin. Got it." Nao nodded.

"Farewell, Karin. We'll meet again. I'm sure of it." With that Nao floated up and out of sight as the world once again went white.

* * *

Origindragon: And that's the second part of my Prologue chapter. The next couple of chapters or so will cover Karin's trip in Erinn as she gets settled into the life of a Milletian adventurer. I'll be looking into the revised G1-3 storyline and I may add elements from them into the story, but I intend to keep the original storyline fairly intact. I do apologise for not releasing chapter 1 with this – this prologue became a lot larger than I thought it would be. Once I get in a couple more chapters I'll combine the prologue parts 1 and 2 for a full chapter.

Until next time! R&R if you'd like, but flames shall be used for popcorn.


	3. Chapter 1: With Friends Like These

Origindragon: Hello and welcome again to M:TS, I thank you all for continuing to read this far, so either I'm doing something right or you're just terribly bored with nothing else to read. I apologize for the delay for this chapter. Life simply thought I wasn't paying enough attention and yelled non-stop "LOOKATMEPAYATTENTIONHEYHEYLI STENLISTENHEYLISTEN!" until I went back. Thankfully my life is back to a calm disposition now, and I can write again.

To AKAAkira: Thanks much for your praise. Niel was the result of me wanting to find some kind of beginning for my fanfiction while I was looking at Adniels page on the wiki. I always thought that for such a big, important dragon he didn't get much screen time so I decided to give him something to do – to play a bigger part in the story than being a fancy summon skill. As for Petrocks perspective, I got it from Christopher Paulini in 'The Inheritance Cycle' (Eragon as some may know it – of which I am currently writing a crossover for) as he uses it to show how dragons put names to things. Once as Saphira, and another as *spoiler* from their perspectives, and I always remarked that it was probably how animals and creatures name things – through describing them with attributes rather than actual names, as names are more of a human creation. As for the prologue, this chapter starts roughly a month after Karin arrives in Erinn, hence how I consider it a prologue. I might change it later, though.

Once again, thanks much for reading. If you don't like how I do things, leave me a review telling me so because I otherwise think I'm doing things well enough. But remember, flames will be used for enchantment burning.

*-=: Chapter 1: With Friends like These… :=- *

_Focus._ That's what Karin needed to do. She lunged forward and swung at the brown dire wolf in front of her, nimbly striking three times and sending it backwards. The wolf howled with pain, enraged.

"Quickly now! Defend!" Yelled a Giant of a man behind her, who was observing the match. Karin remembered the defense technique she was taught a couple weeks before by Ranald and readied herself as the wolf ran at her. It rammed into her once but was stopped when Karin blocked it with both her hands.

"Attack twice and smash to finish him off." Karin lashed out twice with her sword before grabbing the wolf and sending it flying with a mighty whack of her sword. The wolf cried out one final time before staying still on the ground. Karin bent to her knees, panting. She hated the fact that she had to hurt something in order to survive in this world – she loved dogs for one thing. That, combined with her 'teacher' and his training regimen was putting her to the edge of her limits.

"Good. You're finally getting it down. You'll be able to run a dungeon soon enough." Said her teacher – who was, in fact, a member of the giant race – as he walked over to her. He was clad head to toe in red armor Spaika armor, the breastplate gleaming like a giant polished ruby. He wore no helmet, as he preferred his opponents to "know his face before they fell" as he put it. On his back was a matching oval shield, red with grey Celtic designs. At his side hung a large cleaver as red as his armor, gleaming crimson and with only a hilt wrapped in black cloth to hold it by. He was Pyroclasm, a dedicated warrior who liked to help out new milletians in developing their combat skills. Mainly he did this because he was bored with what dungeons had to offer but also because he gains satisfaction whenever he hears his 'students' make a name for themselves.

"And just how many other animals do I have to hurt before I get 'good enough' huh?!" Karin rounded on him, spinning and glaring at him.

"You realize these animals come back, right? This is Erinn." Pyroclasm reminded her, pointing to the wolf behind her. She turned around to see the wolf dissolve and in its place a smaller wolf, a pup, was walking around. She mentally smacked herself. Erinn was an enchanted land where those gifted by the gods never experienced true death, simply resurrection and rebirth. Animals, Nature, Fomors, and her own people – Milletians – were gifted by the gods.

"I'm sorry, Pyro. It's just been a long week." Karin said, sighing. "It's been a long month, for that matter."

"It's all right. You'll get used to it. It took me a while to figure out that the bear I kept running into couldn't die the same as me. And man can bears hold a grudge!" Pyroclasm said, chuckling.

"I hope so. Then again, maybe I shouldn't. After all, none of this is real." She told herself weakly. She was starting to lose hope that she was crazy – that everything here might actually be real. More frighteningly, that she wouldn't be able to return to her family. Then a thought occurred to her.

"Pyroclasm, has a milletian ever died from old age?" She asked the giant as he checked over his prized red goatee with his right hand.

"Not that I heard of, no. Neither has a Milletian ever starved to death either. A milletian can live for thousands of years if they wished to." He said, staring black with his fierce brown eyes. He combed back his slightly long, wavy red hair and re-assembled his small ponytail – a Warriors Tassel, as the tan-skinned warrior called it.

"That's… such a long time…"She said, absorbing the information. The fact that she herself could live long beyond her family simply added to her worries that she wouldn't see her family again. Even if she _did _find a way home, would she be in time? Or would she be too late?

"Your friend Alex has lived much longer than even I have. She helped me out when I first came to Uladh – after kicking my ass of course." Karin was shocked.

"But Alex is so nice! Why would she beat you up?" Karin asked, to which she got a sheepish grin.

"'Cause I challenged her to a match. I figured that no human would be able to best me. She set me straight after that though, what with her gods-cursed katana and all." They were talking about the first friend Karin had made after arriving in Erinn, a wandering tradeswoman named Alexylia – Alexylia Rohansia Nettle, but she simply preferred 'Alex.' She was a woman who had wavy amethyst colored hair sprawled out naturally over he r shoulders and round cobalt blue eyes full of wise mirth. She always wore a purple-pink trench coat with violet leather shoes, a matching cowboy-like hat with light-purple triangles on the bowl of the hat and she always had a matching purple-pink katana on her back which she called 'Graeling.' It meant "Shining One" according to her. How Karin remembered her was that she was always very friendly and fun-loving. She tended to travel a lot as she spent her life as a merchant, though she was proficient in just about everything. She also had an accent that sounded like a strange mix of Southern and British. It was a very pretty accent, however.

"KARIN~! HOW ARE YOU~?" Yelled a girl who ran to them, tackling the red-head to the ground in a spray of long blonde hair.

"GAH! What-?! Oh, hi Elli." Karin gurgled as she recovered from being taken down like a football quarterback. The blonde girl rolled off of her and leapt to her feet, nimble as a wild cat.

"Are you done training with brick-head here?" The pointy-eared blonde said, pointing to Pyroclasm. At this Pyroclasms' eyebrow twitched but he said nothing otherwise. Elliandra, or 'Elli', extended her hand and helped Karin up before hugging her again. She was an Elf – with ears like triangles and curly, wine-colored tribal markings adorning her face. Her hair was long, blonde, straight, and soft as a blanket and always smelled of Jasmine. Her sky blue eyes were round and innocent – often deceiving people into thinking she was an airhead. She wore a matching set of armor – the "graceful" leather armor series as Karin remembered it – all in black leather, with a sky blue skirt and golden wings adorning her helmet. On her back was her elven bow with a matching black quiver with silver lining.

"I think I'm done with training for today." Karin said, leaving it more as a question mark for Pyroclasm. He nodded and headed off on his own. Elliandra glared after him for a second before focusing back on Karin. She and Pyroclasm never got along, mainly due to the prejudices between their two races and the looming prospect of a possible war between the elves and the giants. Karin never understood what the _cause_ of the animosity was, however.

"Well, anyway, I wanted to know if you'd like to go shopping today!" Elliandra continued in her happy and excited tone of voice.

"I don't have much gold on me today, though."

"That's fine! We got to find you something cute to wear, especially if you want to spend time with a _certain someone!_" Elliandra said waving her index finger and laughing as Karin blushed slightly.

"Leave him out of this! I think I'm fine!"

"Of course, Karin, since Ranalds school gear is _so_ modern and hip." Elliandra said, winking. She was referring to Karin's current clothing – a complete swordsmanship school outfit in sky-blue and white, with a Tiel blue Plad beret on top called a 'Wingless Bat Hat', a gift from Alex when she got her new outfit. She wasn't quite sure what it had to do with bats but she accepted it regardless.

"H-He said it was fine!" Karin stuttered, talking about the young silver-haired alchemist who came to Tir Chonaill to visit every so often to collect snowballs. The boy was Nagi, and he had wise, violet eyes with a depth almost as infinite as Nao's own eyes. His silver hair was short, messy and yet very handsome – matching his face perfectly. He was mischevious and a comic, looking to make people laugh or smile whenever the chance presented itself. He wore square, wooden glasses and a white scientists coat with a deep purple shirt and pants alongside grey leather shoes and brown fingerless gloves. Either at his side or attached to his arm was his black and white cylinder with a plain kite shield, and he always wore a pair of knuckles as he trained both in Alchemy and Martial Arts.

"Karin, if you want to attract a nerd like him you'll need to give him something to look at. You've got a great body, so show it off!"

"I'm not some peacock strutting her stuff for everyone's pleasure, it'll make me look like a-!"

"Don't worry, you won't look anything like that! I know just the outfit – I saw a girl in Bangor wearing something like it and she brings all the boys running! And I _won't_ take no for an answer~!" Elliandra said in a sing-song tone, taking Karin by the arm and dragging her off toward the village.

"E-ELLI~!" Karin yelled out, struggling to free herself.

* * *

"I-feel-absolutely-RIDICULOUS!" Karin growled, blushing as red as a cherry as she stood before Elliandra in Malcolms general shop. The shop keeper was attending to his other customers, the blonde-haired young man avoiding the two of them – mainly trying to avoid the wrath of the red-haired berserker Karin sometimes turned out to be. Karin was wearing what Elli told her was a 'Torks Blacksmith Outfit for ladies', the faded green baggy jeans with pink flames on the bottom going alongside a faded purple-blue tank top and brown wrist wrappings. On her feet was a pair of black and brown Blacksmithing shoes to match the outfit, while Elli allowed her to keep the hat.

"I think you look sexy! DON'T YOU THINK SHE LOOKS SEXY, MALCOLM?" Elliandra yelled at Malcolm, causing everyone in the store to turn around and look at them. Karin blushed an even deeper shade of red, deciding if it would be worth it to try out her new smashing technique a few times on Elli for such a humiliating scene. Malcolm only stared at them, unsure of what to say to avoid bodily harm.

"Uh-uh-"

"Ah, who am I kidding? You'll never find someone else attractive apart from Nora~ right?" Elliandra said, giggling as it was now the shopkeepers turn to blush.

"Not so loud! She could be right outside!"

"Pshaw! Everyone except her knows about it anyway! I doubt she'll even think I was serious anyway!" Elliandra said, waving her hand dismissively before returning her attention to Karin. "Anyway, I think specs will like it! Just remember to wear it next time he comes to town!" Karin decided she had had enough at that point.

"And what about you Elli? You got a special someone in mind?" Karin asked her. The elf smiled widely and nodded.

"Yup!" That wasn't quite the reaction Karin wanted, but it made her curious nevertheless.

"Who?" Elli only winked and giggled.

"That's~ a secret~!" She said mysteriously. She then went over to Malcolm and paid for the outfit. Karen looked back down at herself and wondered exactly how she was dragged into this.

"Karen?" Said a young male voice, making her jump and look in the direction of the voice. Standing in the doorway was Nagi, a small grin on his face.

"N-Nagi! Hi!" Karin walked over to him, flushed in an embarrassed expression at being seen in her current attire.

"You went clothes shopping I see." He said.

"Well, Elli dragged me with her clothes shopping." Karin replied, brushing her ponytail behind her shoulder nervously. She looked behind to see Elli standing back a ways, a broad grin on her smile as she made a gesture to 'go on.'

"It makes you look cute!" Nagi replied, grinning in a silly fashion.

"Really?! Oh- uh, thanks!" Karen looked down at her feet. "So – here for more snowballs?"

"Actually I'm here for a different reason." Nagi said. "I'm investigating the recent surge of fomors in the nearby dungeons. People have been encountering more and more lately, so I decided to see if the rumors are true here as well."

"Really? Do you want some help with that?" Karin asked. She knew that she was still a newbie when it came to fighting but she was curious about the recent rise in monsters as well – and she wanted to spend more time with the goofy alchemist. Nagi tilted his head, looking at her critically.

"How much has Pyro taught you?" Karin fidgeted.

"Well, I know the basics. Windmill training left me very dizzy so Pyro taught me the basics on how to fight. I also learned ice bolt from Lassars class and Elli gave me a book that taught me the healing spell." Nagi looked unconvinced, however.

"Come on, Nagi, she learned a lot more than when you last saw her!" Elli said, coming over.

"And I see you were eavesdropping again." Karin whispered to her.

"No, elves just have good hearing." She whispered back. Nagi sighed finally.

"All right, you can come with me Karin. But as soon as you're downed the first time you have to leave, okay? I'd rather not see you hurt yourself just to help me." Nagi told her.

"Don't worry, I've got good teachers!" Karin said confidently. She was bubbling with happiness that Nagi thought of her that way. Nagi was about to walk out again when he stopped, as if remembering something.

"What is it?" Karin asked him. He grinned as he turned around suddenly and poked her in the stomach.

"Poke!"

* * *

The next day Karin went around making preparations for her first dungeon run. They were going to be investigating Alby dungeon first, and then move on to Ciar dungeon the next day. She bought forty potions of health and stamina along with twenty phoenix feathers and bandages from Dilys, the town healer, and bought a pair of daggers from Ferghus – Learning the hard way that Ferghus was an unreliable repair smith, and that it was better simply to buy new weapons from him. How he even managed _that_ was a miracle. She bought some strawberries and a loaf of bread from Caityn and had a quick warm-up exercise with Pyroclasm before finally heading down to Alby dungeon, past the guardsman Trefor – who waved to her – and up the hill into the cave beyond. There she found herself in a well-lit stone chamber with murals on the walls and a large statue of a winged goddess, kneeling and holding a sword point down, in a raised dais in the center of the room. Before the statue was a slightly raised stone platform, when Nagi stood waiting with another person – one that surprised Karin.

"Alex? What are you doing here?" Karin asked the purple-haired lady.

"Howdy Kar'n, I heard ya were gonna make yer first dungeon run an' decided to come along. I wouldn't wanna miss it!" Alexylia replied. Karin was angry at this – She wanted her first run to be with Nagi alone, like she planned! – But she didn't show it. Instead she smiled.

"Sure thing! Glad to have you aboard!" Alex then looked at her quizzically.

"I ain't interruptin' summn am I?" She asked Karin. Karin wanted to yell out that YES she was interrupting something. She didn't.

"No, not at all! I'm still learning and I can use all the help I can get!" Alex then hefted her katana out of its sheath, smiling.

"Great! About time I reckon' fer me to go out 'n exercise a bit anywho. Gotta keep practicin' or else ye'll pay fer it later. Merchants frustratin' me right now! All them item farmers have gone 'n ruined the market. I hear some of 'em are even usin' illegal methods to try an' make items. It ain't natural, what they been doing. " Alex said to them, hefting her katan a couple times to get used to the weight. She then looked at them sheepishly. "Sorry about rantin' to ya. Shouldn't bother other people with mah problems."

"No, not at all." Nagi said as Karin walked over to them. "Lately I've been hearing the same thing myself. The Ailech regime is looking into the claims but there isn't much they can do. They need to figure out how, first of all, and everybody who is a suspect has been keeping shut about it." He then put a finger on his chin philosophically. "Probably one of the greatest strengths of man – and a terrible one at that – is mankind's insatiable greed and desire. We want, and so therefore do what we is within our power to fulfill that want – even if it is never truly sated." He then turned to both of them.

"Ready, duckies?"

"Duckies?" Karin asked. Nagi then produced a pair of rubber ducks and handed one each to them.

"Glad you asked. There you go." This caused Alex to laugh, and even Karin had a smile on her face. She pocketed the rubber duck.

"Yeah, I think we're ready." Karin said. Nagi nodded before tacking a single gold coin out of his pocket and dropping it. As the coin fell it faded away and the room became dark. The door behind them faded away as the door behind the statue melted open, revealing the black depths of the dungeon.

"Last one into the first room pays for lunch!" Nagi yelled before tearing off into the dungeon.

"Hey no fair!" Karin laughed, running after him as Alex followed suit behind them. And together they began their first steps toward a long journey – a journey that would change their lives forever, shifting alliances and bringing the limits of friendship to the brink of collapse.

And so I write here, the first chapter of three sisters born from the soul of light and darkness as a record of their journey. Here begins the saga of the Trinity Souls – as written by one who watches them from afar.

I am Adniel, Dragon god of the Zardine dragons and watcher of legends young and old.

* * *

Origindragon: And so concludes the first chapter! WHOO! As always, R&R at your pleasure. I'll try to update more often than this but life does take a toll and I'm planning a major move soon. So, until next time!

P.S.: Oh, and I am debating on whether or not to include other peoples OC's in Karins journey. It'll be about five per generation quest I think as the maximum. If I do, I'll include a link to the forum post on the NA mabi forums. Keep an eye out! PEACE OUT! \ O_O /


	4. Chapter 2: Dungeons, Dungeons, and More

Originadragon: Hello again viewers! Here I am writing gain and I decided to follow up with my idea on including OC's, so be sure to check the NA mabi forums for details. I'll post a link at the bottom of this chapter. I apologise for not updating recently since I've been… distracted. But now that the distraction's over I can go back to writing again.

AKAAkira: I can see how you mean, so I'll be rewriting some parts of my previous chapters. I also think I'll go ahead and combine the first two prologue parts now that I'm somewhat back into the habit of story writing.

Once again I do not own mabi, I just write for fun. Flames shall be used for popcorn.

-=: Chapter 2: Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons… :=-

While she was confident in her fighting ability, Karin was still very nervous about being in a dungeon where terrifying monsters like the Fomors may make mincemeat out of her. She may not fear death as badly anymore – it was almost a joke now – she _did_ fear the pain behind it. Karin looked around as they entered the boss room, and winced. She _hated_ spiders. Too many eyes, too many legs and the whole fact that they made sticky webs just disgusted her.

"I've got the bloody big one, y'hear?" Alex said as she ran for the gigantic red spider in the back.

"Fine with me." Karin said, focusing on the not-so-smaller version of the red spider, smashing it and sending it flying into a wall. Nagi pulled his golem – Pebblehead as he called it – from the room behind and manipulated it into attacking two spiders at once. The golem twirled on the spot, sending its giant rocky form flying into both spiders and knocking them flat on their backs. Karin turned around just in time to defend herself from the spider that was running back to her. She gave three quick slices and stood in a counter stance, waiting for the spider to advance again. The spider tried to hit her again and she went with the flow of its blow, sending it flying again. It twitched once before curling up into a ball.

"HEEEYOYA!" Karin looked over at Alex, who managed to kill the giant spider and two of its smaller siblings and she was watching Nagi's golem go ape on the last spider left. After the golem slammed the ground with its arm the spider went flying once more before curling up, dead. Karin felt her pocket get heavy all of a sudden. She reached in, curious, and found a small key in her pocket.

"What's this?"

"The curse on the dungeon is lifted, so we can get the key to the treasure. That's what happens when you finish a dungeon." Nagi explained as he opened his eyes, Pebblehead sagging slightly before lumbering over to Nagi.

"Ever wonder why Fomors nevr' run outta money? That's why. They keep it all fer themselves."Alex said. "'s why we gotta keep the heat on an' defeat the curseholders – the dungeon bosses." Both she and Nagi moved on to the room beyond with Karin following suit, absorbing the information.

"Why were the dungeons created?"

"Why indeed." Nagi chuckled. "Some were old forts that humans built while others were once ancient palaces and towers long since buried by the passage of time. Some were even the research areas of druids and wizards who were researching dangerous spells, so that no one would get hurt in case the experiments they did went horribly wrong. They all weren't this simple. In fact the simplest fort – Alby – was about twice as long as the royal castle and a labyrinth of passages."

"It's tha goddess statues that keep 'em separated." Alex said, looking up at the statue of Morrighan as they entered the treasure room. "When the Fomors invaded, only sensible thing fer her to do was to keep mixin' up all the forts n' whatnot so the Fomors would be forever lost. 'Cause that's how they tried to get inta our world." Karin still had a confused expression on her face.

"The Fomors created an underground gateway into our realm in each of the old forts, so the goddess sacrificed herself to make the very places the Fomors tried to invade a literal endless labyrinth. And even if they did find their way to the end, the goddess statue would block them from entering our realm." Karin looked at the statue, an expression of amazement and wonder on her face as she looked upon the goddess' soft face.

'_To sacrifice herself so that other people could be safe…_' Karin thought silently as she opened the reward box – gold as well as a blue mana herb. '_She must really be strong in order to give up her own life like that. Oh, well no duh she's a goddess! But still…'_ It was one thing to be able to slay monsters and another to give up your life to protect the people you love.

"Well, thanks Karin. You actually did pretty well back there! You're going to be just fine, I'm sure!" Nagi said, hugging Karin – which prompted a large blush from her.

"A-anytime Nagi! Just say the word and I'll help you out!" Karin said, hugging back.

"And… uh… thanks… Alex." Nagi said.

"Sure…"Alex replied. Karin looked at both of them. Did they have a fight or something?

"What's wrong?" Nagi looked at Karin, cheery smile on his face.

"Nothing. Let's go to Ciar dungeon next!" Nagi put his hand on the statue and vanished, Alex following behind him.

'_Are they hiding something from me?'_ Karin thought as she also placed her hand on the statue, the room dissolving into the dungeon lobby once again.

"Hey!" Karin called out as she saw Alex leaving.

"Come on Karin, let's go." Nagi said, walking briskly toward the entrance.

"But I thought you didn't think I could handle it." Nagi stopped and turned around.

"Well, after seeing how well you did in the dungeon I figured 'why not?' you know? Unless you don't want to co-"

"I'll go!"

"Then it's settled!" Nagi said, flashing a smile before turning around and walking out of the lobby.

"But,-Ah, wait!" Karin called out as she ran after him. She caught up to him outside and walked alongside him, adjusting her hat slightly.

"I know you're still getting used to this world so I figured after this why don't we get something to eat together eh?" Karin almost tripped as she was walking.

'_Is he asking me out? Wow, this is quick!_' She thought to herself, happiness bubbling inside.

"Sure Nagi! I'd love to!" Nagi smiled at her as they made their way past Trefor, the guardsman waving at them as they passed. They waved back in return.

"Lovely! I'll see if Elli and Pyro can join us too. It'll be like a party!"

"But – nevermind." Karin sighed. '_So much for a date. Oh well. I guess I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up._' She felt the initial rush of happiness drain away, leaving behind disappointment. She shook her head and decided to change the topic before she got depressed.

"So… did you and Alex get in a fight?"

"Eh?" Nagi stopped looking at her. He was smiling, but there was sadness in his eyes.

"I guess you could say that. She and I… live very different lifestyles. We have very different views on everything, and have different opinions on how situations should be handled. So mainly we only work together when we have a common goal in mind." Karin tilted her head, thinking.

'_What exactly does he mean by 'different lifestyles?' alchemists and merchants travel a lot so shouldn't they get along?'_ She looked up as Nagi turned around and began walking away. She began jogging to catch up to him and decided on a course of action.

'_Pyro and Elli should know what's wrong. I'll ask them when we get back.'_

"First, though, we should get some supplies. I think since you like to charge into battle a lot we should get you another sword."

"Why?"

"So you can use one in both hands silly." Nagi said with a chuckle.

* * *

"STUPID WOLVES!" Karin cried out in exasperation as they both entered the dungeon lobby.

"Karin, I'm sure they just wanted that roast chicken you had on you. If you had just given it to them-"

"I AM NOT GIVING THEM MY FOOD!" Karin yelled out angrily, holding the hems of her slightly torn swordsmanship dress.

"I'll take you to dunbarton when we get out. I'm sure Simon can make it look good as new again."

"… Fine." Karin said, dissuaded from going into berserker mode again. They both stepped onto the altar and Nagi dropped a Spider Scroll from Alby. Once more the room dissolved, walling out the entrance to the lobby and opening the door to the dungeon.

"So why are you going into dungeons again?" Karin asked Nagi as they descended the stairs into the dungeon.

"Since the end of the war the Fomors have been relatively dormant, staying in the dungeons in low numbers. Recently, however, they've been spotted in greater and greater numbers. Not to mention that high level Fomors have been appearing in areas they're not supposed to. I'm trying to see if this is the same in all the dungeons or if the Fomors are targeting areas in particular."

"So, the Fomors are coming back? Why?" They stepped into the first room and Nagi walked up to the treasure box.

"Good question. That's another question I'm trying to answer." Nagi opened the box and the door slammed shut. Goblins appeared all around the room as Nagi quickly flipped open the loading chamber to his cylinder, flipped two water crystals in, and flipped it closed before firing at the goblin in front of him. Karin, meanwhile, ran up to a goblin and sliced the goblin four times with her sword before spinning in place with her arms outstretched, sending the goblin flying away in a heap.

"Ha ha! How do you like that?" Karin crowed as another goblin snuck up behind her, readying its axe for a two handed blow.

"Karin! Behind you!" Karin turned around just in time to see a flame trail right behind her and a goblin burning within it.

"Don't get cocky, just keep fighting until none of them are left. Alex isn't here to watch your back this time." Karin flushed in embarrassment before turning toward the next goblin.

'_Just keep this up for a few rooms and you'll be fine._' She thought to herself.

* * *

Karin slashed at the last goblin in the room and sent it flying. The doors to the room opened as a key fell at her feet and she slumped over. This was only the second floor but she was already exhausted!

"Maybe we should take a break right now. I think you could do with some food anyway." Nagi said, getting some firewood out of the pack on his back and starting a fire. Karin collapsed to the floor nearby, thankful to get some rest.

"Such energy and enthusiasm!" Nagi said jokingly as he hit steel on flint and got a small spark. Karin merely gave him a sullen glare, though she smiled as well. Nagi blew on the flames lightly before sitting down next to Karin, watching the flames grow to a healthy size.

"You really _have_ gotten better lately. I thought you would have managed to collapse by this point."

"I have good teachers." Karin said, smiling as she watched the flames grow.

"Even if they don't always get along when they're teaching." Nagi said, chuckling.

"E_specially_ when they don't get along." Karin giggled, agreeing with him. They sat in silence for a while, watching the fire. Karin fidgeted a little bit.

'_Start asking him questions you dummy! You want to start dating him at some point, right?_'

"Nagi-"

"Did you want me to cut up that chicken you have? I have some bread and tomatoes – we could make roast chicken sandwiches." Karin nodded.

"Sure!" She pulled her pack around and began to rummage through it.

"You know what you should do next time they're both fighting?" Nagi said as he got out a cutting board and a small kitchen knife.

"What?"

"Throw cake in their faces!" Karin giggled at the thought.

"And why would I throw cake in their faces?"

"Because cake is delicious."

* * *

"Are we there _yet_?" Karin asked, slumping slightly as they walked. She was tired, she hurt all over, she was covered in blood and dirt, her swords were dented and her clothes ripped in several places – overall she just wanted to go back to the Inn, take a shower, and go to bed.

"Just one more room, I think." Nagi said.

"That's what you said on the _last floor!_" Karin yelled out. This was the third floor of the dungeon and she just wanted to get out of such a monotonous place. They emerged into a room with a red orb at each corner of the room and a gigantic steel lock on the door in front of them.

"_FINALLY!_" Karin exclaimed. "I was getting tired of looking at Stone walls all day long!" She ran to the far right corner and whacked it, causing the door to swing open. She walked over to the door and looked inside.

"Meep." She squeaked. She saw five skeletons with bones made of metal walking around and a bunch of rocks in the corner.

"Well, uh, just a bunch of metal skeletons." Karin said, failing to hide the nervousness in her voice. She heard that she should stay away from undead as they could be very strong.

"You're overlooking the golem." Nagi said, as he walked over.

"Golem?" Karin looked back in. she didn't see a golem.

"The pile of rocks over there – it's a golem that's asleep." Nagi pointed to the rocks. Karin looked closer at the rocks.

'_They're like how Nagi's golem looks when its resting_.' She realized with a start. She was just planning to hide behind those rocks! Maybe she'd come out and take one skeleton at a time but... if she did that then she would have been squashed like a bug from behind.

"Leave the golem to me, all right? I want to see if Pebblehead can stand up to his bigger cousin." Nagi said, loading up a crystal into his cylinder.

"All… right… I guess…" Karin said nervously as she eyed the nearest skeleton. She gulped before stepping forward cautiously. The skeleton seemed to pay her no heed as it continued to shuffle about with its blank stare, shaking every so often.

"RRRRRAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Karin ran at the Skeleton and plunged her swords into the skeleton before leaping upwards in a vicious uppercut, sending the skeleton flying. As she landed she noticed that she severed a rib from the skeleton. The skeleton got up and silently cursed, its mouth moving but no words coming out of its mouth. It stared at the girl and Karin flinched slightly. It then ran toward her, veering slightly to her left as it ran. Karin quickly got into her counter stance and waited. Sure enough, the skeleton ran and tried to cut her with its sword. She parried and sent the skeleton flying backward again.

"Ha! You're not so tough!" Karin exclaimed, starting to feel more confident about taking on the skeletons. She noticed the skeleton got up and hunch over slightly, as if trying to duck.

"I gotcha now!" She yelled, running at the skeleton. As she got near the skeleton whirled in a circle with its sword outstretched.

"AAH!" Karin yelled in pain as she was sent flying backwards, landing on her back with the room swirling around her slightly. As she slowly got up to her feet she winced, clutching her side. She pulled her hand back and saw blood.

'_Ow! That really hurts! Why didn't anyone tell me skeletons knew how to do the windmill?'_ She looked back at the skeleton in time to see it sheath its sword and reach for the longbow on its back.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Karin yelled as she ran forward again. If that skeleton began pelting her with arrows she was dead. She reached the skeleton as it began to take aim at her and gave it a double-slice combo from her swords. The skeleton was knocked backward and it hunched over again as it quickly sheathed its bow and drew its sword.

"I'm not falling for that trick again!" Karin said as she tipped her swords to each other and concentrated, tapping into her small mana reserve.

"_Spirits of ice grant me your power_." A small glimmer began to float around her as the small razor of ice formed in the air in front of her. She repeated the spell two more times – as she was instructed to do – before launching one at a time at the skeleton. It flinched twice before being knocked backwards as the final ice bit hit it on the skull and broke it open. The skeleton crumpled to the ground, finally put out of its eternal duty. Karin slumped over as she sighed, relieved she got at least _one_ out of the way. She heard a rumble and looked over to see Pebblehead shatter part of the leg stone of the other golem, the larger golem groaning angrily. The golem then shambled over to Pebblehead and tried to smash it to pieces with its damaged leg but Pebblehead knocked its leg aside and whirled on the spot, shattering both leg stones completely and sending it clattering to the ground. The golem never reformed itself after that.

"You did it Nagi!" Karin cheered. This seemed to attract the attention of one of the remaining skeletons as it looked at her and drew its sword.

"Eeep!" Karin squeaked as she saw it run toward her. She noticed it holding its sword with both hands as it ran her and she had a good idea of what it was going to do – it was how she always used her sword to smash things. When it was about to swing she quickly lashed out with her swords in a combo, sending it back and into a huddle.

"_Spirits of ice grant me your power._" She incanted and threw the razor of ice at the skeleton. This seemed to make it angry as it ran at her but she was ready. When the skeleton swung its sword she used its momentum as well as her own to throw the skeleton back into the stone wall. Then an idea came to her.

"_Spirits of ice grant me your power._" She threw the razor once more at the skeleton and readied herself as it ran at her. Once more it was thrown backwards and several fingers of its left hand were splayed all over the floor as it landed. She repeated the pattern twice more before the skeleton lay in a crumpled heap of bones.

'_Why didn't I think of that sooner?!_' She thought, mentally slapping herself for such an obvious tactic. She looked over to Nagi and saw him finish off the last skeleton with a blast of water from his cylinder, the crumbled remains of Pebblehead scattered about the floor in a mass of dust. He looked over to her and smiled.

"Very nicely done Karin! I was definitely wrong about thinking you weren't ready for dungeons. I'm impressed!" Karin beamed at the praise from Nagi.

"Thanks Nagi! I'm just… just… jus…"Karin was swaying as a sudden wave of sheer exhaustion came over her.

'_Why am I… so… sleepy?_' was her last thought as she toppled to the ground, Nagi running at her and calling her name as the world went black.

* * *

'…_llo. Hello… can y… me…? Llo…'_

_There was a figure, a woman, standing in the middle of the stone stage, garbed in a white outfit. Sadness and desperation and hopelessness radiated from her as she called out to Karin._

'_Hello… c.. u hear m…'_

_Karin started to move forward, to get closer and try to hear what the woman was saying. To try and help her._

"_Who are you?" She yelled out to the figure._

'_Hello…'_

* * *

"… llo! Karin wake up!" Karin slowly opened her eyes. All she could see was blue however.

"Wha-?" The blue flickered for a second and she realized Elli was literally right in her face.

"GAH!?" Karin exclaimed flinging herself backwards and off of the bed she was on.

"Elli! N-Not so close please! GAH!" Elli flung herself at Karin, hugging her fiercely.

"Oh was so worried since Nagi brought you in iwassosuresomethinghappenedt oyouand-" As Elli ranted on Karin tried to remove herself from Ellis death grip, but failed.

"You know you're choking her right?" Boom a low voice as Pyroclasm came into view. Elli let go at once.

"Ohmahgawsh I so SO sorry! SORRY!" Elli said, embarrassed. Karin recovered a few mouthfuls of air before looking around. She was in the healers house at Tir Chonaill.

"What happened?"

"Tah put it lightly ya fainted." Said Alex as she came into view. "Gave us a bloody good fright ya did. We was jus' mindin' our own business when Nagi came inta town holdin' you an' ran straight fer Dilys. Said you were out like a cow in tha summer sun an' wouldn't wake up ta _anything_. After that he got a message from Tailteann askin' him to come back. He didn't wanta but he hadta an' said he'll be back as soon as he can."

"He was worried about me?" That made Karin very happy, to know that she was important to Nagi.

"Of course he was! We all were worried about you!" Said Elli, Hugging Karin again.

"All right, that's enough." Said Dilys from the front. "She needs to get some rest, so the rest of you need to leave her in peace."

"You heard the lady." Said Pyroclasm. "Get some rest, Karin, and we'll see you later." He lumbered out of the room, Alex and Elli following behind – Elli winking at her once before she left.

"Get better so we can go shopping again, okay?"

"All right." Karin said as Elli zoomed off. Karin settled down once more before she began to doze off into sleep again. Once more, she heard the haunting call of the figure in white...

* * *

Origindragon: And so the next chapter begins Generation One: Advent of the goddess! Once again I apologize for such a large delay between chapters. I got sucked into a new game and kinda lost track of time…

Anyway my roommate (and namesake of the main character) has posted on the NA mabi forums a place people can submit OCs for to participate in the story. No, I will not get spoiler-ish characters or broken characters (excluding ones that are agreed to be main villains for the side gens) This includes Paladins/Dark Knights before the end of G2 and G3 respectively, while Falcon and Beast will be at the end of their respective chapter arcs. You get the idea. You can leave the potential for those changes, but just wait to make them as part of your character.

And finally, what am I accepting? This is basically how it goes:

-Each Gen will have 3 OC's that are not mine, and which I will include in the running profile I will start doing next.

-Of the 3 OC's there will be 1 Hero (friend, ally, etc.), 1 Neutral (traveler, hired hand, someone they just met one day, etc.), and 1 Villain (fairly obvious).

-How can your OC be accepted? It's based on how well the character is fleshed out, if they will be able to fulfill their role the best in compared to other possible OC's for that position, as well as other factors.

-Where can you post? Here's the link! of course it shares the NA mabinogi website start name and since the chapter editor won't let me post a full link without eating it:

/Community/#%3F569200-Mabinogi-Trinity-Saga-OC-Position-Submission-Admittion-(Decision-remission-)%26p%3D4716283%23post4716283

^-Just add the regular forum start in front of it.

Thanks, and review in your spare time! Remember, flames shall be used for cooking.


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